Do not be mislead into thinking this is soft-parenting. Fay and Cline also believe that children must have boundaries and consequences for their actions. They suggest natural consequences, one in the consequence is related to the choice that the child made. The book gives various scenarios of logical consequences.

I borrowed the book from a friend, and then purchased the audio-book. I enjoyed the audio-book although there are times that the delivery of the dialogue in the first tape seems patronizing. Don't be turned off by the delivery of that first tape! The book is full fantastic suggestions that make life easier.

If you have the opportunity to see Jim or Charles Fay in person, GO! They are not patronizing at all. Jim Fay will have you laughing so much at times, and you leave feeling extremely energized.

"A supposedly fun thing" is a collection of essays that are ostensibly stabs at journalism, the big joke being that Wallace is no journalist. He comes off as an endearingly neurotic-bordering-on-pathologically-self-concious red headed step child of Hunter S. Thompson. In fact, it could even be stated that this book is a sort of postmodern inversion of "The Great Shark Hunt", where Thompson's diving in head first to live inside the events he reports is replaced by Wallace's endearing midwestern unwillingness to get in the way and fear of making a nuisance and/or humiliating spectacle of himself.

Mixed in with all that, though, are startling on point revelations about the state of American Culture, what it means to be an american, the nature of art, and the human condition, which one normally doesn't expect from works about TV, Tennis, State Fairs, or Carribean Pleasure Cruises(in the title essay).

While it may not be as great an accomplishment as Infinite Jest (and the comparison to that magnificent book is the only reason this is getting four stars instead of five), "Supposedly Fun Thing" is without a doubt an incredible read and well worth the price of entry.

Wallace is (IMO) a totally hilarious writer and the essays collected in this book are astute observations and analyses of a number of topics and events written wittily with a voice that is brutally critical yet somehow still compassionate. His accounts of things as varied as a day at a small county fair to his experiences going on a "luxury cruise" are filled with information, abstract analysis, biting wit, and self-examination. I laughed out loud frequently, yet it made me think about society and selfhood a lot as well. Highly recommended for fans of this sort of writing.

I first became aware of Don Foster when I read JON BENET: INSIDE THE RAMSEY MURDER INVESTIGATION, the book written by one of the lead detectives on the infamous child beauty pageant queen. The Boulder Police Department used Foster's expertise to unravel the mysteries of the ransom note left of the back stairs of the Ramsey home.

I vaguely knew that Foster had been the expert who first 'outed' Joe Klein, the anonymous author of PRIMARY COLORS.

What I didn't know was that Foster had been one of the people who worked on the Unabomber case, leading law enforcement right to Ted Kaczynski's door, nor did I know he worked on "The Talking Points" memo during the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. I also didn't know his claim to fame was proving that an obscure poem was actually penned by one William Shakespeare.

Even if you're not particularly fond of non-fiction, this book is pretty interesting and will keep you turning page after page. I would like to know exactly what kind of 'searching' he does through the documents he reviews, but I suppose that would be giving away too many trade secrets.

I'll say this....If I'm ever involved in any kind of espionage or intrigue, Don Foster would be the first person I'd call to help me figure it all out.

Enjoy!

In a culture where your fifteen minutes of fame are immediately followed by a book deal, we are flooded with memoirs, but remarkably few are any good. For the most part, our enjoyment of these books hinges almost exclusively on our interest in the event that propelled the author into the public spotlight, however briefly. Don Foster is a Shakespeare scholar, Vassar professor, and literary sleuth, and his book, Author Unknown, is a glorious exception to this rule.

Though his name may be unfamiliar, many--at least the political junkies among us--will remember the dramatic moment when Mr. Foster unmasked Joe Klein as the man behind the nom de plume "Anonymous" and the author of Primary Colors. Foster, at the behest of New York Magazine, had compared the text of the novel to the writings of a number of the most likely suspects and had found so many stylistic and linguistic similarities between the book and Klein's column--including heavy use of adverbs, hyper hyphenation, Capitalization of Concepts, an obsession with race and a certain uncomfortableness about sexual orientation issues--that he was able to confidently pronounce Klein the author. Despite Klein's fearsome denials and some brief second thoughts, Foster stuck to his guns and eventually Klein was forced to acknowledge authorship, when handwriting samples also tied him to the manuscript.

This book contains plenty of fascinating details about the techniques Foster uses and the nitty gritty of the investigation, but the basics of the "Anonymous" caper are fairly well known, in at least general form, and, though this episode alone would probably suffice to sell the book, it is the other cases that Foster deals with that really make the book worthwhile. He starts with the work that brought him to the attention of New York's editors, when as a graduate student he managed to use his investigatory skills to attribute a poem to William Shakespeare. This story provides a truly sublime moment when, having submitted his dissertation to Oxford University Press as a book proposal, he was turned down and received instead two anonymous critiques of his work--apparently standard practice calls for scholars to read and judge submissions anonymously--wherein both authors stated that it is not possible to use only the internal evidence in written works to attribute authorship. However, Foster then proceeded to compare the critiques to the writings of various prominent Shakespeare scholars and was able to discern precisely who had written them--perhaps predictably, neither expert saw the humor in this this, but the reader surely will. Despite these early rejections, Foster was eventually credited with having discovered a new Shakespeare poem and write-ups in The New York Times and elsewhere established him as perhaps the first, certainly the leading, practitioner of literary forensics.

Later sections of the book deal with : his subsequent involvement in the JonBenet Ramsey and Unabomber cases; a demonstration that Thomas Pynchon was not the secret author behind a series of vituperative letters to the editor of Mendocino County, California newspapers, signed by Wanda Tinasky, the Fort Bragg Bag Lady; a tantalizing rumination on who may have really written the infamous "Talking Points" of Lewinsky fame; and a final chapter which pretty much demolishes the idea that Clement Moore wrote the beloved poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. The Talking Points discussion is especially interesting, mostly because it remains such a galling mystery, particularly for those of us who wanted Bill Clinton led out of the White House in an orange jumper and handcuffs. Foster is not able to pin the deed on a specific culprit, but does show conclusively that the memo was not the exclusive work of Monica and her pal, Linda Tripp, and points at clues in the language and legal sophistication of at least the first page of the memo that seem to indicate it was most likely the work of one of a handful of lawyers in the Clinton inner circle. Recall that Clinton himself is a lawyer, but Foster does not pursue him directly, focussing instead on Bob Bennett, Bruce Lindsey and Vernon Jordan. He is hindered here by not having access to much written work by these three men, but it would be fun to see what he could do with more evidence.

My only criticism, and it's a mild one, is that there's a little too much "gee has my life become hectic" and "what have I gotten myself into." This is self indulgent, almost self pitying, and is at odds with the genuine excitement he obviously brings to his work. He does such a good job getting us caught up in the thrill of the chase that his complaints about the hectic lifestyle the work entails fall on deaf ears. These quibbles aside, the book was one of the more pleasant surprises to come over the transom here in quite awhile. This one is highly recommended.

GRADE : A

The descriptions of the ancient alien machinery is uninspired, and the beauty of the world that comes across in the game is noticeably absent. Brink's crystal madness is understated, and instead of becoming a raving, screaming madman, as he does in the game, he sort of states that he has a problem with Boston Low and lets it go at that. I was extremely disappointed in this book.

If you see the movie and then read the book, it is like replaying the actual film in your head. The book doesn't add alot of description, but if you have seen the film you can add that in and get the full picture replayed in your mind. Plus, there's the added bonus of understanding more deeply the characters, for you can see there thoughts, whereas in the movie you only see their actions and what they say. It helped me see the characters better, how Henry so desperately wanted to be free, how ruthlessly the Baroness plotted to marry her daughter to the prince, etc.

But by watching the movie first I could also see how cool and schemeing Marguerite is, and how the other sister Jacqueline really wasn't bad at all- just trodden down by her mother.

So all in all, if you want the best of both worlds, see the movie, and read the book. The movie gives you color, life, detail and character, and the book taps you in on their thoughts and helps you understand parts of the film you may have not understood.

Cheers

PS I did think it was kind of weird that in the book Danielle described the prince as beautiful. I mean, of course he's good looking, but the term sounds so feminine for a guy. Oh well. I'll leave the decoding of that to rocket scientists.

I think some people just aren't happy enough.. they have to have things there way.. I'm sure Wendy Loggia made the book as best as she could and I think she did a Wonderful job on it.. And they always say the books better then the movie.. well I liked them equally the same.. The book just has a little more detail..

I recommend everyone see the movie and read the book!!!!!!

oh and it does help some if your a fan of Drew Barrymore!!!!!

If some one is looking for a good, non technical book about Enron, I suggest "Pipe Dreams", by Robert Bryce. If someone is really serious about Enron's accounting and financial practices, I suggest Mr. Neal Batson report to the USA Banruptcy Court, Soutrhern District of New York.

By the way the second star is given because Mr. Cruver didn't loose his sense of humor despite all his troubles - and included some witty comments along the book. Also his periodic information about Enron's stock price is an interesting idea; one can compare the stock market's reaction to the sequence of Enron events.

Personally, I had access to numerous Enron corporate execs, corporate counsel, corporate accountants, investment bankers, consultants, etc. for several years in the 90s. Truth be told I was only a fly on the wall at the outset of this mess but I have learned a great deal. With the help of others like Brian I hope that will continue.

The only thing wrong, from my perspective, with this book is that the author does not fully understand the "greed" that overtook the company. He thinks nothing of writing a book that supposedly analyzes this greed. Yet, he thought nothing of doing things that were clearly unethical, possibly illegal, and downright GREEDY for his own benefit AFTER the house of cards collapsed.

His experience on E-bay is a good example. Obviously he felt, as many of us do, that one set of rules applied for his superiors, and another set of rules applied for him. Unfortunately the text is presaged with an "ethical lecture" from his alma mater. In light of this irony, I feel it puts some egg on the face of UT's B-school but the preface is still relevant. Conversely, the argument can be made that ethics must be taught in society LONG before people attend a graduate school.

Greed is Greed people. Let's face it.

In short, this is a GREAT book! I hope that MANY, MANY former Enron employees like Brian choose to do the same. The truth often has many facets and the real truth is never known until the majority have told their story. Nice job Brian, hope I haven't been too critical and I hope you have a great career.

I only gave it 4 out of 5 stars because they made a strange frame around the story - with Mary coming back to the Manor after the war and flashing back to the whole story. That in itself is fine -- but for some reason at the beginning a cat jumps out at her (and then instantly the flashback begins), why??? And at the end Colin comes and meets her in her garden and proposes... aren't they COUSINS?

The setting of Yorkshire England and the rich cast of characters including the maid Martha, Dicken, Martha's brother, and many others make this a wonderful book for all ages. I have read the secret garden hundreds of times and each time I get something new out of the book. It's a true classic.

Child characters: "Mary Lennox," spoiled, lonley, sad child. Taken from her home to live with a guardian in England after her parents death. "Dickon", Mesterious boy who communes with nature. "Colin," son of Mary's guardian, is hidden from society.

In the movie Mray sets out to find and unlock the secrets to the mesterious garden, making friends along the way.

The scenery in this movie is breath taking at times. One of Hallmarks best! A must have for any Hallmark Hall of Fame fan. Good to have in any movie collection!

"The Broom of the System" is Wallace's debut, and like most first-borns, it received the most love and attention. It's more accessible than "Infinite Jest" and can be read more easily in smaller chunks without having to figure out, for example, when the events being narrated actually took place.

There isn't much of a plot in "Broom," which is remarkable when one considers that the novel runs over 500 pages. Loosely speaking, it's about the travails of Lenore Stonecipher Beadsman, a 24 year old woman who works as a telephone switch operator for a magazine edited by her lover, Rick Vigorous, who is anything but. Her grandmother (also named Lenore) has disappeared from her nursing home, and Lenore is the only one who seems worried. But that's only a fraction of what the book is about.

It's full of stories within stories, some the sad submissions that Vigorous derides (but that are far better than his limp and self-indulgent attempts at writing), others little asides that seem irrelevant but aren't. Mostly, "Broom" is an exploration of language and ideas -- some chapters involve highly detailed descriptions of, for example, the Goldberg-like trail of a pebble; other chapters are entirely dialogue, with no description of who is speaking (but which is clear from context).

In other words, this is not a novel about sex and drugs (although there are sex and drugs), and it's not a shallow, Gen-Ex picture of excess. The nearest comparison I can think of, in a loose way, is Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon."